I’m also a native. I think #2 is the main factor. So many people I know are fans of the team from their hometown (or their dad’s home town) .

Now the Rams also have the problem of an entire generation that hasn’t had a home town NFL team to root for.

Hahaha…well, my take (and I’m a native) is that I don’t think it’s a matter of being cool or not (although there’s certainly that element), it’s really two things:

1. There’s a lot to do here – Disneyland, mountains close by for skiing and hiking, the beach, good weather, etc.- so people are distracted and just don’t really *need* to latch on to a team. It’s like, “Well the Rams lost…let’s go on a bike ride”. You *will* see a lot of “fans” freaking out when the Lakers are good, but that’s just because the Lakers happen to be good that year…otherwise, most folks don’t give a crap.

2. Like any huge metropolis, there’s a ton of people constantly coming here from other states and other countries and they hang on to whatever traditions and teams and cultures they already have. There’s just not this feel of a collective whole, all backing the same team, like, I’m assuming, you’d see in Cleveland or Green Bay.

So anyway, I don’t really know about being fashionably late, etc…I’ve never even been to a Lakers game, and I don’t see any movie stars. I think folks here are just kind of casual about the sports thing…heck, my buddy and I were laughing our heads off at the Rams game, standing up and telling people “Don’t give up, THERE’S STILL TIME. We just need 4 touchdowns in 3 minutes!”

That being said, it should be noted that there are some HARD CORE Dodgers fans…tatoos, jerseys, the whole thing. Even when they’re losing, people go to Dodgers games, big time.